


Sherlock Metas

by maryagrawatson



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-05-26 03:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6221338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maryagrawatson/pseuds/maryagrawatson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My attempt to debunk tiresome fanfiction tropes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sherlock Eats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter now has spoilers for the series 4 episodes "The Six Thatchers" and "The Lying Detective."

I’ve read about a hundred too many stories in this fandom with tiresome tropes that are based on a single isolated moment on the show that is contradicted many times. The worst of these is the Sherlock Doesn’t Eat trope. I’m obviously not watching the same show as many other writers are because I see no evidence at all that Sherlock doesn’t eat/has an eating disorder/hates eating , etc.

What I do get from the show is that Sherlock most likely eats like a snake. That is, he has very large meals with light snacks in between, which matches my own experience with rake thin people, especially those who smoke and consume a lot of caffeine, as Sherlock does. He has also demonstrated on at least three occasions that he cares about the quality of his food, which contradicts an utter disdain for food or a “food is fuel” mentality. I don’t disagree that he gets distracted and probably doesn’t eat much when he’s working, but the “Sherlock doesn’t eat at all ever when he’s working” trope has been debunked many times.

I understand that some of these ideas come from references in ACD canon, but those references have been contradicted many times in this modern iteration. Therefore, I don't think that "that's what Conan Doyle said" is a satisfactory justification for adhering to this trope.

So let’s examine the evidence. 

**A Study In Pink**

This first episode establishes immediately that Sherlock thinks about food. Before he heads out to help Lestrade, just prior to realising that John should come along, he says, “Mrs Hudson, I’ll be late. Might need some food."

When the case is wrapped up, who brings up food again? Yes, Sherlock, asking John, “Dinner?” He could have had any number of reasons for not wanting to eat at Angelo’s — doesn’t like the food, didn’t want to be distracted from his stakeout, doesn’t like to be rushed when he eats. But he’s had food on his mind the entire episode.

It’s also established that he recognises if food is good or bad, specifying that the Chinese restaurant he’s suggesting is a good one and giving a tip on how to find other good Chinese restaurants.

**The Blind Banker**

This episode opens with Sherlock being rather put upon that John has returned without food.

And then, we get the unfortunate line where he tells Molly that he doesn’t eat when he’s working, which alone has spawn the whole trope about nearly anorexic Sherlock. It’s much more likely that he was just trying to let Molly off easily. This line will be contradicted several times as the series progresses.

We also see Sherlock, who doesn’t concern himself with trivia and pop culture, make a joke about restaurant critic Egon Ronay not bothering to visit the Bart’s cafeteria. So again, he's judging the quality of the food presented to him (and also suggesting that he might have read some of Egon Ronay’s reviews).

Finally, did John really eat by himself all the food he brought home by the time he brought Sarah over? With him being so shocked that there’s nothing, it’s not unreasonable to think that Sherlock helped!

**The Great Game**

This episode opens with John coming in and asking Sherlock if there’s "anything in," specifying that he's starving, so he's clearly asking about food. Why would he waste his breath asking that if Sherlock didn’t regularly have food available when John comes in?

While Sherlock is working on the Carl Powers case, Mrs. Hudson brings him a snack. The table is covered with plates that have remnants of food in them. Sherlock has at least been nibbling while working.

Finally, John says he won’t be in for tea (evening meal), which makes it sound like Sherlock and John having tea together is a routine thing, especially since he makes sure Sherlock knows there’s leftovers in the fridge.

**A Scandal in Belgravia**

This is the episode where we learn that Sherlock eats large portions. He gets more breakfast than John and the plate he refuses from Mrs. Hudson after learning Irene is dead is almost overflowing. Refusing the food after Irene’s death is our first indiction that he loses his appetite when emotionally distressed (as opposed to being a stress eater).

This is the first episode where we actually do see him eat, toast at the beginning of the episode, and then the mince pie that he nicks from Mrs. Hudson’s fridge.

**The Hound of the Baskervilles**

Sherlock is on a case during this entire episode. He’s working. And yet… I’ll let him speak for me (emphasis mine), “Now, **we have eaten and drunk exactly the same things** since we got to Grimpen apart from one thing: you don’t take sugar in your coffee.”

**The Reichenbach Fall**

Sherlock tells Molly to cancel her lunch date to have lunch with him, producing a bag of crisps for each of them. Of course, we don't know if he actually ate his or not, but this demonstrates an intent to nibble on something while working.

**The Empty Hearse**

Like in ASIP, Sherlock makes a dinner suggestion, showing that he has cravings and that he can recognise good food from bad (calling the fish shop “fantastic”). Even though Molly declines his invitation, he still has those chips he was craving.

**The Sign of Three**

Ah, the episode that debunks the Sherlock doesn’t sleep trope, but I digress.

This episode confirms that Sherlock likes at least a light breakfast (if biscuits can be considered breakfast), considering how put upon he is that Mrs. Hudson ran out of biscuits. It also confirms that he’s still eating large portions when he has a proper meal. Mrs. Hudson made John his favourite breakfast, so there’s no reason to disbelieve that she did the same for Sherlock and that his favourite breakfast is gammon (ham) steak, fried eggs, pineapple, and chips!

There is also a flashback to the early days where Sherlock is sitting at the kitchen table with John having breakfast.

In his speech, Sherlock mentions that John "can cook," further evidence that he cares about the quality of what he ingests. He even tries to remember, under immense pressure, a dish that he particularly likes.

**His Last Vow**

Ah, we finally see Sherlock actually eat one of his large meals after he breaks out of hospital to meet with Magnussen! His choice of food is pretty sophisticated too.

I got my hands on the [shooting script for His Last Vow](http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/Sherlock_Ep3_Script.pdf) and they made a cut about Sherlock's eating habits and a second scene of him eating.

Cut from Sherlock's escape from the hospital was this quote by Mrs. Hudson: "... there’s food missing from my fridge - he always does that ..."

And in a nice bit of continuity from ASIB, here's Sherlock at the Holmes' home on Christmas Day: "Sherlock is leaning against the side, reading a newspaper, boredly munching a mince pie." So with that and his love of Ginger Nut biscuits revealed in T6T, the trope of Sherlock having a palate like a child is absolutely debunked -- he likes strong spicy flavours like ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, as well as sophisticated foods like olives that fussy eaters tend not to like. 

**The Abominable Bride**

Mind Palace Sherlock has only one thing on his mind when it comes to Mrs. Hudson, food: “Oh, for God’s sake. Give her some lines. She’s perfectly capable of starving us!”

Yes, Mind Palace Sherlock goes a few days without eating, which could possibly reflect real world Sherlock. But Mind Palace Sherlock is an unreliable narrator and so this more likely reveals how he wishes he could be, especially since there is no other indication in the series that Sherlock goes for days without eating.

**The Six Thatchers**

In which High!Sherlock has the munchies and we learn that he is extremely passionate about Ginger-Nut biscuits.

And how does John attempt to bribe him into being godfather? Mentioning that there will be cake. It's starting to sound like Sherlock has a sweet tooth!

**The Lying Detective**

High!Sherlock continues to have quite an appetite. We learn that he likes ketchup on his chips. And that chips are the only perk to being suicidal...

After the chips, we see him walking around drinking what appears from the tall, thin, light blue can to be diet Red Bull.

Then, as he's sitting on the bench by the London Eye and London Aquarium, he has what appears to be a roll with some sliced meat in it (sub/hoagie type thing).

And like in the previous episode, he is motivated by the promise of cake!

But most telling? Being malnourished is not a normal state for him.

**Conclusion**

There just hasn't been anything yet in the series that can convince me that all those scenes of Sherlock getting stroppy about being forced to eat in some stories have any bearing on reality. Rather, I see a person with a healthy appetite and a refined palate.


	2. Sherlock Isn't Completely Ignorant of Pop Culture -- A Meta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock might not know that there's no king of England or that the Earth revolves around the sun, but he still has room in that great brain of his for some trivia. This chapter now contains information from the series 4 episode "The Lying Detective."

There is a funny moment in The Sign of Three where we learn that Sherlock has no idea who Madonna is. Ha ha ha ha. There's Sherlock being clueless about pop culture because he's so above it all. Or is he? 

We learn in the very first episode, A Study in Pink, that Sherlock has seen the movie "Apollo 13" when he blurts out, ["Houston, we have a mistake!"](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=houston%20we%20have%20a%20problem)

In the next episode, The Blind Banker, he makes a joke about British food critic [Egon Ronay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egon_Ronay). 

And in the third episode of series one, he makes two references to pop culture, and possibly a third, depending on your definition of pop culture. 

First, we learn that he hasn't deleted The Beatles, or at least Ringo Starr when he says, ["Goodnight, Vienna."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Vienna)

And in his confrontation with Moriarty at the end of the episode, we discover that one of the most popular children's shows of his generation made an impact on it when he says, ["Dear Jim, will you fix it..."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim'll_Fix_It>)

I'm not sure this counts as pop culture, but this episode also reveals that Sherlock hasn't forgotten his nursery rhymes when he says ["Round and round the garden like a teddy bear"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_and_round_the_garden) at the beginning of the episode. 

Finally, unless some of you lovely readers have some more, in the second season episode The Hounds of Baskerville, I thought it was pretty hilarious that not only has Sherlock not deleted Elvis, he hasn't deleted his moves either when he flashes briefly to ["Hound Dog"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQ8GDBA8Is) in his mind palace and busts a move! In a nice bit of continuity, Sherlock still hasn't deleted Elvis by the time of "The Lying Detective." 

I think these little moments really enrich Sherlock's character and show, just like with the "Sherlock Eats" meta, that nothing is absolute with him. He might not know Madonna, but I bet he's just itching for the right case to do his Elvis impersonation!


	3. Mummy's Name Is Not Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet and Siger are, for whatever reason, the accepted first names for the Holmes parents. Except that we learn in His Last Vow that at least one of those is very wrong.

I can get past any stories about the Holmes parents that don't conform to canon (eg. them being cold and abusive) if the story was written pre-series three. After that, not so much. And the same thing goes with mummy being referred to a "Violet."

Mummy is M. L. Holmes.

[ ](http://tinypic.com?ref=34spi1k)

Unless, of course, she was lying about having written that book.


	4. The Fireplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am surprised by the number of fic writers who think that 221B has a 'real' fireplace that uses logs and kindling since that makes absolutely no sense, but...
> 
> Arwel Wyn Jones confirmed it to me himself that in-universe the fireplace is supposed to be real! So ignore this meta that illustrates that he really didn't think this one through!

[There are real wood burning stoves in London](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/interiors/9839432/Everyone-loves-a-wood-burning-stove-but-are-they-bad-for-us.html). But there's no evidence at all that 221B has one. There are no logs by the fire, no set of tools, no flue.

In the real world of the 221B set, the flames come from a propane cylinder. In the fictional world, it is also very likely the case that the fireplace uses gas to produce flames. This makes much more logistical sense than the idea of regular wood deliveries to Baker Street.

The gas fireplace idea is further supported by the fact that the kitchen has a gas cooker. So the flat is likely hooked up to gas and quite probably has some type of gas heating as well,.


	5. Sherlock Sleeps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really, the guy's human!

There is a lot more evidence that Sherlock sleeps and keeps regular bedtime hours than that he's basically an insomniac.

Like with the food trope, I think that that the no sleeping trope comes from TBB, in which we see Sherlock up all night while John is falling asleep next to him. There is not enough evidence in TBB scene to make any valid deductions about Sherlock or John's sleeping habits. For all we know, John was up all of the night previous with a patient or Sherlock had taken a nap during the day.

The only other moment in the first two series that refers to either of them sleeping is Sherlock at the start of ASIB yawning and with bed hair after being woken to take on the car backfiring case. Later in the episode, we do so see him sleep, albeit in a drugged state, and see that he has a lovely bed and a very neat bedroom, all conducive to good sleep.

It's really not until TEH that we get a solid hint that Sherlock needs sleep just like any normal human being -- sleep deprivation was a successful enough torture to be sustained long-term. There's also a lot one can assume from his nodding off during his parents' visit -- he's bored, he hasn't been sleeping due to nightmares, but there's no really useful data there.

Next episode, TSOT, is when Mrs. Hudson informs us that Sherlock does have regular sleep patterns because he's "not usually awake" at that time of day. We once again see that Sherlock gets sleepy when under the influence of certain substances. I was rather disappointed that he wasn't snoring in that jail cell. :)

Then, we have T6T, in which Sherlock is having enough dreams to take him to a therapist. So that debunks the trope that he becomes an insomniac when he's in distress.

Finally, TLD once again has Sherlock sleep while under the influence of something, but this is where it gets interesting and debunks the trope that he doesn't sleep when he's working. He contrived the whole scenario to get himself into that hospital bed and once there, let himself sleep, no matter whether it was natural or drug induced. If we read between the lines, he was asleep during John's visit, then woke up when alone with Nurse Cornish, at which point he asked her to switch his IV to saline. He then let himself fall back asleep to wait for Culverton!

All I can conclude from the above is that Sherlock sleeps. He might sometimes arrange his sleeping time to suit his cases, but when he has nothing on, he keeps a regular bedtime routine.


	6. Sherlock Dresses for the Weather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no fear of this guy dying of heat stroke.

There is another fic trope that Sherlock doesn’t dress for the weather, mostly in the sense that he would rather pass out from heat stroke than go out without his armour of his Belstaff, scarf, and suit.

In fact, there are plenty of moments in the show where Sherlocks sheds some of his armour. I wrote this just off the top of my head without rescanning each episode and had no trouble coming up with examples:

ASIP: When he and John come in from chasing the cabbie after the scene at Angelo's, Sherlock's only in a suit.

TRF: Sherlock isn't wearing his coat and scarf around the time of Moriarty's trial, including when he gets released from prison.

THOB: Sherlock isn't wearing his scarf.

HLV: Again, no scarf.

T6T: He's wearing only lightweight trousers and a shirt (with rolled up sleeves) in Morocco.

TLD: Another episode where the scarf fails to make an appearance.

We also get evidence that he also adjusts his wardrobe when it's cold:

TGG: It's so cold in Belarus that he added fur to the collar of his Belstaff! Also, he wears a corduroy suit throughout most of the episode (when he's not wearing jeans!).

TEH: It's snowing when he heads out to get his chips after parting ways with Molly, so he buttons his coat.

Remember that Sherlock lives in England. Generally speaking, the weather there doesn't reach extremes and it is very realistic that there could be years where Sherlock has to wear his Belstaff even through the summer or winters where he didn't need it at all.

(Incidentally, it takes spending most of a winter in England to understand that the turned up collar is more about surviving atrocious weather than it is about looking cool!)


End file.
